Traditions.

[Darth Ferus]

Within a simple room was a ring. Dirt with a simple circle drawn around it. Within the center, a blade thrust into the ground. There was nothing ornate about it, nothing special. It was bare bones, and just as any Iridonian would want it. Darth Ferus stepped into the ring first, dressed in nothing but a simple pair of trousers. Bare flesh riddled with scars stood exposed to the elements, yet the golden eyes of the Sith did not seem to bother.

This was a trial of Blood, something sacred to his people. A duel with no armor, no force. Just skill, and one weapon. The winner would be the last standing, and while the sword was there it was not a necessary thing. Both arms crossed over his chest as he visibly tensed, excited about what was to happen. It had been far too long since a trial of blood. Now he waited for his foe, ever on the verge of letting out a blood curdling roar.

He was ready.

[member="Xavka Duquo"]

 

[Xevek Nekonis]

Xavka strode confidentially into the cave Ferus was waiting for him in. In answer to Xavka's challenge for a duel, Ferus had arranged for them to meet on Iridonia where they would fight as Iridonian's. They would be stripped down to the bare basics, no weapons or amour only loose fitting trousers, where they would only be allowed to fight with their own bodies and one weapon between them. In this case the weapon was a sword, not a Zhabako as Ferus apparently had non and Xavka refused to allow his own to be used as his was forged by his own hand to his own preferences.

In accordance with the rules of Res Slaret Ah Selenoren Xavka was only wearing his trousers and nothing else, leaving his Jat'i and scar covered tanned torso open to the dry and hot air that covered Iridonia. All of his usual weapons had been left on his ship along with his shirt. Also in accordance with the rules, Xavka stayed kneeling by the edge of the ring while he waited for the senior of the two to enter before he pushed himself to his feet and entered afterwards. He was bursting was anticipation and contained feral rage, it had been a long time since he had been able to practice the customs of his people.

"Would you do the honours of starting Res Slaret Ah Selenoren, Ay'Edor?" Xavka spoke the ritualistic lines of his Clan with a level tone. He did not know if Ferus had been taught the same as hiss different Clans taught different things, but he spoke them non the less.


[member="Darth Ferus"]
Translations:

Spoiler

Res Slaret Ah Selenoren = The Blood Challenges
Ay'Edor = Elder

 

[Darth Ferus]

A swift nod would be all [member="Xavka Duquo"] would get from the elder. This fight was not a place to talk, and now was the time for action. As the boy stepped into the ring, he would drop into a more aggressive style, but one the other Zabrak would certainly recognize. Built for swift jabs and heavy kicks, Darth Ferus would start up the fight by simply running right for him. Blatenly ignoring the traditional blade within the center of the ring, his actions would carry him right towards his opponent. And if Xavka thought it best to go to the weapon, he would find only punishment.

Upon getting close, a swift low kick would exit for the younger's left shin, followed by a small jab for his throat. Nothing would be held back, for doing so would only be an insult.

 

[Xevek Nekonis]

A low growl rumbled out from Xavka's throat as his elder began the fight. The stance Darth Ferus had sank into was one he recognised. From what Xavka had learnt during his younger years there were only two styles of hand to hand combat taught to Iridonians, both the Zabrak Iridonians and the Warrior Iridonians. The style the elder of the two was using was called Raktaret, Strong Bone, a style that mainly revolved around powerful and upfront strikes that would overwhelm an opponent. Xavka, on the other hand, favoured the second style, Zobaena, Control Over Breathe, a style that focussed mainly on locks and using an opponent against himself. The opening stances and movements of the styles were also vastly different; while Raktaret had an upright stance and movement pattern Zobaena's stance was on all fours and kept that position for movement as well.

As Darth Ferus ran towards him, Xavka dropped to the ground, supporting himself on all limbs, as his style demanded, and launched himself forwards so as to meet the elder of the two a distance in front of the blade. Xavka, like Ferus, chose to ignore the blade and instead meet his opponent in a test of skill in their chosen styles.

As the foot came towards his back left support, Xavka crouched further before pushing himself into the air and over the leg. As the follow up fist came for his neck, Xavka twisted as much as he could whilst in the air and gripped the forearm. Leaning forwards as he fell back to the ground, Xavka would consequentially drag Ferus forwards slightly as his full weight pressed into the extended limb. Touching back onto the ground, Xavka used his grip of the limb to pull himself up and around as he also pushed himself off again. He made sure to bring his right knee up as he did so, aiming to connect it with the back of his opponents head before landing behind him so that Xavka could dance out of the way and prepare to attack again.


[member="Darth Ferus"]
　

Spoiler

If you have any issues with this, please do tell me and I'll change what I can.

 

[Darth Ferus]

The knee collided with the back of Ferus's head with a loud snap. Thankfully, that wasn't a bone breaking, but just the sound of skin hitting against skin. The Sith would stumble forward, trying to regain his balance as his head spun. But even without a clear head, he turned on a heel to once more face [member="Xavka Duquo"] , prepared to be pounced upon during his recovery time.

 

[Xevek Nekonis]

Coiling his legs as they made contacted with the ground, Xavka pushed himself towards the turning Darth Ferus. Landing on both hands in a handstand a short distance form the feet of the Sith Lord, Xavka used his momentum to spin his body around while flipping himself over. The end result was him facing upwards with his feet, and their claws, aimed at the elder of the pair's neck.

Finishing the spin, Xavka colapsed his feet under him and behind his hands, so that he was crouched low to the ground, barely hovering off of the dusty floor with nearly all of his muscles coiled and prepared for movement.

Surging forwards, Xavka leapt towards the left shoulder of Ferus. His left arm was bent into a reverse grip with the intention of wrapping around the back of his opponents neck and digging into the elder's right shoulder blade. His right arm was coiled back above his head, tilted so that the palms and claws were directed for the eye line of the other Iridonian, his intention with that hand was to cause Ferus to flinch from the fake, giving him time to enact his overall plan.

If everything proceeded as Xavka hoped it would, he would be able wrap himself around the torso of Ferus before using the weight of his tall from to drop his opponent to the ground, where he would hopefully be able to gain control over the tempo of the fight.


[member="Darth Ferus"]

 

[Darth Ferus]

With a bend backwards the elder would narrowly miss the clawed feet of [member="Xavka Duquo"] , but rather than let the man continue with his spin, both hands of the Sith Lord shot outwards, gripping one of the young Zabrak's leg in it's iron grip. Using the youngers momentum against him, Ferus would in turn spin, using his grip on the boys leg to try and trip up his hand work and have his head smack against the ground.

Quickly moving with this, and if he could have caught the boys leg to begin with, he would go to straddle it, and twist. The goal? Dislocate the knee by bending it in a way it shouldn't.

 

[Xevek Nekonis]

Xavka growled as he felt his legs get caught before he could follow through with the rest of his planned move. 'Stop thinking ahead. React, don't plan.' That was his last thought before he was pulled from his position and his head was slammed into the ground. Even as his mind went white as a stone impacted into his temple, Xavka knew that he was in a precarious position. Instinctively reacting, he twisted his body, using the momentum of his throw.

He had just pulled his leg free when he felt Ferus land on his legs, forcing Xavka to release a sharp groan. However, he uttered no other sound, his pride not allowing him. Tensing his stomach muscles, Xavka forced himself to sit and swiped at Ferus with his right hand, twisted his body as he did so to deliver more speed. Straight afterwards, he twisted his body the other way, aiming to drive his left elbow into his elder.


[member="Darth Ferus"]

 

[Darth Ferus]

Rather than stay still Ferus continued in a much more animistic fashion. When [member="Xavka Duquo"] came up, the elder fell back, quite literally onto his back, and rolled away. Quick, precise, and ultimately for the sword in the center of the ring. Ending his roll the man would stand up on both legs, and wrench the blade free. Now armed with the sword, a savage grin would form on the mans face as he charged right in for Xavka, bringing the blade across for his chest.

 

[Xevek Nekonis]

Xavka growled in frustration as Ferus claimed the ceremonial blade. As Ferus came towards him, swinging the blade towards his chest, Xavka copied what the elder of the two had just done, falling backwards into a roll to dodge the strike. He continued to roll until he reached the outer boundary of the ring. There, he righted himself and settled onto all fours.

Growling, he pushed off and ran towards Ferus, still on all fours.

Deep within the mind of Xavka, his more feral personality had begun to stir, slowly stripping away at his rationality and focus, transforming into more of a beast bit by bit. This was always a risk Xavka took whenever he entered into a fight, the bloodlust would overwhelm him and seize control of his mind.


[member="Ferus"]

 

[Darth Ferus]

Rather swiftly Ferus would continue back himself, creating the whole of the ring as space between himself and [member="Xavka Duquo"] . Now he himself rested on the edge, a wide grin still present. But underneath this grin a dark mind began to formulate a different approach to the duel. With Xavka on all fours, he could visibly see the boy loosing himself to the primal instinct all Iridonians had, and that was his moment.

Keeping to the edge, he would wait until Duquo was almost upon him, and with a simple step to the right, Ferus would clear a path for his opponent to leave the room. This wouldn't be enough though, and as he moved he twisted, bringing about the metal blade in his right hand with as much force and speed he could muster. The plan? Catch Xavka on the way out, and make sure he did end up out.

 

[Xevek Nekonis]

As he leapt at Ferus Xavka found his suddenly clear of any obstacles as said target moved to the side at the last moment. This meant that if Xavka continued on would loose the fight due to a ring out, something his pride wouldn't allow. As he was about to make a move, however, he noticed the blade in Ferus's hand coming around, directly for his back. This meant that the younger Iridonian only had two choices. Continue his leap, accepting the loss, but evading injury from the blade. Or fight back but take the slash to his back. In the end, however, there was really only one choice Xavka would make.

Slamming his right hand down into the ground below and digging in with his claws, Xavka pulled himself around to face Ferus, uncaring for the pain that flared from his shoulder from his actions.. As he did so he felt that blade impact with his back and slice through muscle and skin, opening a large gash that was, thankfully, not that deep but reached from shoulder to shoulder.

Almost roaring in pain, Xavka leapt forwards a moment later, closing the small distance between him and his enemy quickly. His right shoulder was aligned to impact with Ferus's sternum.


[member="Darth Ferus"]

 

[Darth Ferus]

A brow raised as his blade collided, but [member="Xavka Duquo"] didn't end up out of the ring. A grin once more formed as he was charged, not a very far distance, and an shoulder was brought up for his chest. At such a close range, and with his blade arm extended still, there was little Ferus could do to stop the attack. As it slammed into his chest, he began to fall back, pain flaring out. But as he fell, he brought the sword back, aiming to drag it's length across the younger's side, to cut him right open.

A pained grin formed on his lips as he did fall back however. Xavka was proving to be quite the handful.

 

[Xevek Nekonis]

The sudden impact with the trained body of Ferus stunned Xavka in immobility for a short while. Normally this would not of been the case but the sudden impact had sent waves of pain rippling through his body after the energy from the impact had ran through his wound. The pause was all it took for Ferus to gain the advantage in the current situation once again, even as he did fall.

Soon the whistling of air being rent in two rang in the Zabrak's ears a the blade was once again sent on a collision course with his body. This time it was directed to his side where, if it hit, would tear him open and take him out of the fight. The pain filled pause had removed any chance Xavka had of being able to dodge the attack and avoid injury, and this knowledge sent a flare of panic through his before he forced himself to calm and to continue on with the fight. To not give up.

Moving as quickly as he could, Xavka brought his left arm up to cover his side an let that take the blow instead. He grimaced as he felt the sword tear through skin, slicing it along its path. He felt it tear through muscle and tendon smoothing, the insides of his body offering little to no resistant to the blade's path through his body. The only resistance came when he felt the very tip of the sword make contact with bone, scrapping along it and sending shivers of pain through his nerves. The whole thing happened in a few seconds but seemed to carry on for a good few minuets for Xavka instead.

With Ferus laying on the ground, he knew that he should take advantage of that. Try to gain the upper hand in the fight and seize the win. HIs more feral side was screaming for it. However, Xavka considered the situation logically through the haze of pain and the feeling of blood dripping from his arm. At that moment, his left arm represented a major weakness in the fight. He could no longer fight Ferus up front as his arm would provide to big a target, instead he would have to retreat and take shots where he could.

Following through on his thought process, Xavka put some space between he and his elder and prepared to fight defensively.


[member="Darth Ferus"]

 

[Darth Ferus]

As [member="Xavka Duquo"] began to move back, the elder pushed himself up with a quick jump, landing on his feet. The blood that dripped down the edge of the blade only gave the man a savage grin. His heritage, the Iridonian Warrior clan, screamed out with enjoyment on the blood letting. Golden eyes glanced over the gaping hole now within Duquo's arm, and his head couldn't help but tilt.

"You're going to bleed out you know. Sticking to the defensive will only lead to your loss. I could just stay back and watch you pass out from blood loss."

It was a clear taunt, and as the blade flipped around in Ferus's grip to press the blood soaked metal against his forearm in a reverse grip, it was clear why. He had the advantage, of time, limbs, and skill. How would Xavka respond now? The Sith got himself into his own defensive position, simply standing across from the younger.

"Tick tock."

 

[Xevek Nekonis]

[member="Darth Ferus"]

Panting slightly from the pain, Xavka listened to Ferus, body slumped slightly. "Yes." He spoke calmly despite the situation. "You are right. You've more than likely won, blood loss will end me. But," here a large feral smile grew of Xavka's lips, "I am Iridonian. I will not shame myself by surrendering. I will continue!"

Despite his words, Xavka made no move towards Ferus, instead, he stayed were he was, left arm clutched to his chest as it steadily dripped blood. 'I'm karked! There's no way I can fight like this. But then, I have no choice." Grimacing, Xavka spat to the side, blood mixed in with the saliva.

Shifting his feet, Xavka charged at Ferus, right arm cocked back in a punch. He did not care that he was showing his next attack, did not care that he was opening himself up for an attack. He had lost, he knew that. But he would go down fighting.

 

[Darth Ferus]

A smile took over Ferus's lips as he watched [member="Xavka Duquo"] charge in. So he was going to go down swinging? Good. And so the elder would give Duquo just that. As the Zabrak ran forward, so too would the human, holding the sword within his own right hand. Swiftly as the got close the blade would be thrust forward at Xavka's chest, but that was the feint. If it missed, as Ferus assumed it would, he would be there, still running, with his left hand coming around to slam into the jaw of his opponent.

Joy filled the Hand's mind as he pressed on. This was a true fight. This was a true Iridonian.

 

[Xevek Nekonis]

Noticing how obvious the strike Ferus had made towards his chest, Xavka came to the conclusion that it was a feint, but could tell that if he did not dodge he would be impaled regardless. In his current state there was no way that he could dodge both the sword strike and the follow up attack, so Xavka was forced to go with the path that did not contain a potentially lethal wound in his chest within his future.

Leaning to the side to let the sword past him, Xavka launched his cocked right fist towards Ferus's chin even as his target's left hand, opened in palm strike, impacted against his own chin. The energy behind the attack coupled with Xavka's weakened state set him flying through the air to land heavily as short distance away even as a loud and sharp crack rang out.

Struggling to his knees, the pale, from blood loss, Xavka felt a piecing ache reach from his jaw and join in with the silent but loud cacophony of other aches and pains that fought and struggled for his attention. Reaching up, Xavka felt his face an confirmed what he had guessed. Currently his jaw hung down and listed to the left, the temporomandibular joints connecting jaw to skull having become unhinged from the last attack. The odd position of his jaw compared to his face placed pressure within his mouth and caused a large amount of drool to begin to pool. Recoiling his hand as pain flared, Xavka confirmed his guess completely. His jaw had been dislocated.

Reaching up, he grabbed the his jaw by the joint and shifted them, aligning them back to their normal position before pushing. With a grating, muffled pop the temporomandibular jointed were back in their normal position. Grunting and spitting to the side, ignoring the dull flare of pain, Xavka pushed himself back to his feet with the last of his strength.

'I'm almost done.' He admitted to himself as he put his feet back under him while he panted through his nose furiously. 'But.' HIs eyes flared slightly in determination. 'I might just have enough for one last attack.'

Shifting his feet, Xavka placed all of his remaining energy into the efforts of stopping the blackness from encroaching into his field of vision any more that it already had. Once he came close to Ferus he swung once with his right hand curled in a fist.

[member="Darth Ferus"]

 

[Darth Ferus]

Ferus simply stood and watched [member="Xavka Duquo"] struggle to his feet. It was over, he knew that for a fact now. Yet the boy continued to struggle on, defy the odds and simply try to win. Try to survive. This mindset was much more than the Iridonian, but one of true Sith. The sort of Sith Ferus prided himself with being. So he let Xavka stand, but he wasn't going to let the boy win.

Though the Sith's own body was a far cry from undamaged. Bruises, possible broken bones, he could feel the soreness seeping in as his adrenaline died off. Simply put, this fight needed to end. Slowly he would shift his grip on his blade, swapping hands. So as the tan fist came for his own form, the Human brought up his left arm to catch the blow on it's forearm, a block. And at the same time, his own right hand, still gripping the blade, would come around for the boys head. The flat of the blade specifically, to knock him out cold.

 

[Xevek Nekonis]

Xavka grunted as his fist was intercepted by the forearm of [member="Darth Ferus"], stopping it in its track in a perfect block. Sighing, Xavka slumped slightly, the remaining embers of his energy having been snuffed out in his final, last ditch attempt.

With a breathy sigh, Xavka's vision began to darken as he was no longer able to hold back the darkness of unconsciousness like he had been doing for the past minuet. However, before he could collapse in exhaustion, the flat of the blade that Ferus wielded impacted against his temple and Xavka collapsed like a puppet with his strings cut.